This invention relates to the field of railroad engineering, and more particularly to an implement for use in railroad car repair shops. One of the regular tasks encountered in car repair is the replacement of damaged draft gear, and very often the damage results in the draft gear becoming wedged tightly in place. Undamaged draft gear are arranged to drop freely by gravity when appropriate retaining members are removed, but the nature of car construction is such that there is no space for the insertion of pries, jacks or other devices of mechanical advantage to assist in the removing the gear when it does not come out freely. Elaborate and time consuming torch cutting procedures are frequently resorted to which not only damage other parts of the car not related to the problem, but also must later be repaired at the cost of further expense and time.
My invention comprises a draft gear extracting arrangement which can be used in any car repair shop to extract wedged or otherwise irremovable draft gear without the need to cut away any portions of the car, and which is simple and inexpensive in construction and easy and safe to use. It includes a hydraulically expandable member or hose and insertion means including a rudimentary winch for introducing the hose while flat into the restricted space always available above a damaged draft gear, together with a source of hydraulic fluid under pressure. When hydraulic fluid is pumped into the hose, the latter expands, forcing the damaged gear out of its resting place.
Various advantages and features of novelty which characterize my invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed hereto and forming part hereof. However, for a better understanding of the invention, its advantages and objects attained by its use, reference should be had to the drawing which forms a further part hereof, and to the accompanying descriptive matter, in which there is illustrated and described a preferred embodiment of the invention.